For the Warriors, a stiffer test ahead

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been hounded by the Pelicans, who lead the Western Conference series 3-0.

Photo: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

When history proclaims that something is impossible, certain assumptions can be made. The Warriors will be playing New Orleans in the second round of the playoffs, because no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit. It’s more than just the numbers, though. The Spurs and Trail Blazers are beaten, emotionally, to the point where nothing seems more appropriate than a summer of reflection.

It was truly inspiring to watch the Spurs play with such ferocity in the first half of Thursday night’s Game 3, and to get a look at Ettore Messina, the classy and highly respected coach who took over for Gregg Popovich. But the death of Popovich’s wife, Erin — coupled with the mysterious Kawhi Leonard saga — has left the Spurs without a breath. This series should end quietly, and with little drama, on Sunday.

Nothing crushes the spirit of Damian Lillard, the Oakland-raised mainstay of the Trail Blazers, but he looked a bit discouraged after Game 3 in New Orleans. As much as he resists the notion — as well as any thoughts of leaving Portland to join some type of superstar “dream team” — the Blazers have nothing beyond Lillard and his backcourt partner, CJ McCollum. The Pelicans double-teamed Lillard without mercy, and unlike so many of the league’s great point guards — Stephen Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook come quickly to mind — Lillard isn’t left with a world of options under that kind of pressure.

More by Bruce Jenkins

The Blazers have lost nine consecutive playoff games, and if they don’t make major changes in the offseason, the depth-laden Western Conference will leave them behind. They’ve been dismally ineffective against New Orleans, a team that left a lasting impression in Oakland on April7, the Warriors’ last home game of the regular season.

The Warriors weren’t terribly motivated during that 126-120 loss, but they’re not forgetting the sight of Anthony Davis (one of the most well-rounded offensive big men the league has ever seen), Rajon Rondo, who dealt 17 assists that night, or Nikola Mirotic, who finished with 28 points.

Davis is launching the first significant playoff statements of his career, and they couldn’t be more forceful. Rondo, who always steps up his game in the playoffs, might be the smartest and most creative passer in the league. And although it seems a bit silly, Mirotic really has been a different player since shaving off his beard, nailing 12 of 15 shots Thursday night in his latest masterpiece.

That’s a lot for the Warriors to worry about — and don’t forget guard Jrue Holiday, getting long-overdue recognition as a bullish force to the basket and a relentless defender. The Warriors will win that series, even if Curry’s ongoing rehabilitation keeps him out of the first game or two, but it will be a test, and quite pleasing to the eye.

The Embiid effect

Philadelphia-Miami has been the most intense playoff series so far and credit Heat coach Erik Spoelstra for keeping his team competitive despite a distinct talent disadvantage and some rampant immaturity. The 76ers’ Joel Embiid had some problems keeping his face mask on (to protect an orbital injury), and when it fell to the floor in the second quarter of Game 3, Justise Winslow blatantly stepped on it — somehow drawing no reaction whatsoever from the officials. (He was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Friday). Then there was Heat center Hassan Whiteside, kept mostly on the bench due to minimal contributions (and terrible body language) but accusing Spoelstra of poor strategy. The dominant Embiid is deeply inside Whiteside’s head, promising he’ll be a “nightmare” for anyone who dares to challenge him ... The A’s home attendance is an ongoing issue, but credit NBCSCA for showing pulled-back views of the Coliseum crowds at game time. If the A’s have tried to discourage such exposure, they haven’t eliminated it altogether ... Interesting take from former Sporting Green writer Tim Keown, on espn.com: “His legacy is up to you, knock yourself out, but I know this: The best baseball player I ever saw was Barry Bonds, and the best baseball season I ever witnessed, in terms of sustained excellence and everyday astonishment, was Bonds in 1993. It was a six-months-long siege (.336, 46 homers, 123 RBIs, 1.136 OPS), and despite all the dominance that came afterward, it stands alone — in my mind, anyway — as the singular achievement of his career.”

San Francisco’s Bianca Valenti, now recognized worldwide as a force in giant surf, is one of five nominees for Women’s Best Performance in the World Surf League’s Big Wave awards, to be announced April 28. ... The San Jose stop on the women’s tennis tour (July 30-Aug. 5 on the San Jose State campus, replacing the Bank of the West at Stanford) has early commitments from Maria Sharapova and two semifinalists from last year’s U.S. Open: Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe ... The NFL isn’t just going ahead with Thursday Night Football — a major health risk to its players and a visual disaster — but also insists on teams wearing single-color uniforms, reducing all of them to clown acts. The new contract with Fox includes many attractive matchups, including Raiders-49ers on Nov. 1. Once you get past the league’s blind spot to safety and good taste, this is a fine Bay Area development. Those teams should play each other every year, along with Giants-Jets and Rams-Chargers ... Odell Beckham and Dez Bryant on the same New York Giants team? Rumors are flyin’ in the wake of a video showing the two working out together. Simply put, this has to happen. The patrons of grand theater demand it ... While we’re dreaming: Texas plays the Giants at AT&T Park in a three-game series starting Aug. 24. In the Rangers’ rotation: Bartolo Colon, who pitched seven perfect innings against Houston the other night at the age of 44, and Tim Lincecum.

Bruce Jenkins has written for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1973 and has been a sports columnist since 1989. He has covered 27 World Series, 19 Wimbledons and many other major events, including the Super Bowl, World Cup soccer, NBA Finals, four major golf tournaments and U.S. Open tennis championships.

He graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1966 and UC Berkeley with a B.A. in journalistic studies in 1971.